HPE DL360 G11 2SFF X4 U.2 BC NVME KIT - P48900-B21

HPE P48900-B21 2SFF x4 U.2 NVMe Drive Bay Expansion Kit

Overview

The HPE P48900-B21 is a factory-configured drive bay expansion kit that adds four U.2 NVMe slots to a ProLiant DL360 Gen11 configured in the 2SFF small-form-factor bay layout. If your DL360 Gen11 shipped with the 2SFF front-bay option and you need additional high-speed NVMe storage — for a dense database workload, a high-throughput surveillance recording node, or an AI inference server requiring fast scratch storage — this kit provides the direct-attach NVMe connectivity without rerouting cabling or replacing the backplane. The P48900-B21 uses the NVMe interface natively, so each drive communicates directly over PCIe rather than through a SAS/SATA controller, keeping latency low and eliminating a potential bottleneck in write-intensive deployments.

Compatibility

Designed specifically for the HPE ProLiant DL360 Gen11 (G11) platform configured with the 2SFF front drive bay option. This kit is not interchangeable with the 4LFF or 8SFF DL360 Gen11 bay variants, and it is not compatible with prior generations (Gen10, Gen10 Plus) due to differences in backplane connector layout and chassis geometry. Verify your DL360 Gen11 order code includes the 2SFF bay designation before purchasing — the bay count and form factor are set at configuration time and this kit targets that specific chassis slot arrangement. Compatible drives are U.2 NVMe SSDs in the 2.5-inch SFF form factor; SATA and SAS drives will not seat or function in these bays.

Installation Notes

Installation is performed inside the DL360 Gen11 chassis with the server powered down and removed from the rack. The kit integrates into the existing 2SFF drive cage area; no additional PCIe riser cards are required as the U.2 NVMe interface routes through the server's built-in NVMe backplane fabric. Weight of the assembled kit is 1.93 lb. Consult the DL360 Gen11 server storage configuration guide for drive population rules and any slot-ordering requirements imposed by the platform firmware before inserting drives.